I really hope so, because with XLRs I hear an obvious difference between Mogami, Vovox and a cheap ones from Amazon. But here may be the role of the cable is not the same in such a combo...
Analog connection? Very different from digital. A digital signal is a waveform encoded as numbers - the receiver doesn't care if the numbers aren't exactly the right size or color.
As to obvious differences in XLR cables - did you do a double-blind ABX test, or is it just a subjective perception?